With land being earmarked for the development of a medical device park by the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA), and a pharma park also in the pipeline in Lalitpur, Uttar Pradesh is all set to emerge as a major medical equipment manufacturing hub.

Medical equipment manufacturers from Uttar Pradesh, according to a state government spokesperson, will soon be seen competing with their counterparts in China and the US once the YEIDA park is developed.

The Central government had decided last year to establish medical device parks and pharma parks in different states to achieve self-sufficiency in medical equipment and pharmaceutical production. It was decided then that these parks would be developed in states with a better infrastructure.

Entrepreneurs will receive financial help from the Department of Pharmaceuticals to develop manufacturing facilities in these parks. The state government also announced concessions for the investors under the Industrial Development Policy.

The spokesperson said UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had prepared a plan for the development of such parks in the state.

A search was initiated for land to set up these parks and locations were identified in Kanpur, Unnao, Lalitpur and Pilibhit. YEIDA was identified as the location for the 350-acre medical device park.

Finally, the chief minister gave his consent for a medical device park on land identified by YEIDA and a pharma park at Lalitpur and a proposal in this regard was prepared and sent to the Central government.

The construction of these parks will begin as soon as the Yogi government gets an approval from the Centre.

According to state government officials, the medical device park and pharma park will together boost the pharmaceuticals and medical equipment manufacturing businesses in the state.

As many as 316 factories across the country manufacture equipment for medical and dental treatment in the country. About 10 per cent of these are in UP. The state is second only to Gujarat, which has about 18 per cent of the factories manufacturing medical equipment.

The business generated by the medical device sector in Uttar Pradesh alone is estimated at more than Rs 500 crore, against the total of Rs 5,300 to Rs 6,000 crore across the country.

UP can become the first choice for investors in this sector because of the large market for such equipment as well as the low cost of manufacturing. At present, the country has only four medical device parks — one each in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Yogi Adityanath, however, is keen on having both a medical device park and a pharma park in the state. These will boast of various facilities necessary for the sector.

The units located at the medical device park will manufacture, among other products, CT scan and X-ray machines, BP monitors, pulse oximeters and ventilators.

Regarding the state’s first medical device park to be developed across 350 acres in Sector-28 of YEIDA, the state government spokesperson said it would progress in two phases.

In the first phase, sheds will be constructed and allotted to units in 125 acres. Likewise, in the second phase, sheds will be constructed and allotted to companies across an area of 225 acres. Land will be allotted to both domestic and foreign companies in these parks.

The parks will attract an investment of about Rs 18,000 crore and provide employment to 35,000 young people. The state government has set target of 2023 as the target year for the completion of the construction of these parks.